Anthony (Tony) Kaufman is a trusted consultant and senior business leader with a distinguished career in leading business and legal strategies within the global hospitality industry. Tony is well-known for his integrity, building trusted relationships, strong work ethic, leading high-performing teams and establishing ethical, inclusive cultures of care, openness and trust. He is recognized for envisioning and executing complex business plans, managing new and difficult business challenges, and implementing innovative solutions that drive continuous improvement.
"Leading a Crisis from the Eye of the Storm" is Highly Recommended
with Net Promoter Score of 100*
Read Tony's Interview in Travel Weekly Magazine
Listen to Tony's experience in a PreparedEx podcast
"Tony walked through step by step how he dealt with the situation. These are the details that risk managers need. Very good blend of videos and interactive slides"
"I loved the presentation style, the content I thought was a great mix of personal/professional, and I thought the multi-media/news clips were very compelling -- it really brought you back to the uncertainty/crisis of the beginning days of the pandemic."
"[What I liked most was] just getting the firsthand take on what it was like to be in this horrible situation. Hearing how Tony handled this was invaluable as we study other crises and can compare best practices."
*All survey respondents stated they would be “extremely likely” or “very likely” to recommend the presentation to colleagues in the leadership / crisis management, risk management fields. 5 point scale. As of 2/4/2022.
An organization’s CULTURE drives its performance and guides its decisions and actions, and drives its results. Culture can be an organization's greatest asset, or its biggest risk. A positive CULTURE also has the power to improve the lives of all those it touches. These simple but critical truths form the foundation of Tony's business philosophy and the services, advice and insights provided by Anthony Kaufman Consulting.
Tony is currently providing his clients with the following services:
-
CRUISE, HOSPITALITY AND BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES: Tony's broad and deep business experience was developed over time in the multiple senior executive positions he held during his career in the travel, cruise, and hospitality industry. Tony quickly hones in on the key issues and draws from his knowledge and creativity to find effective solutions to the most complex challenges. Consulting services range from providing assessments and analysis of the cruise industry to developing strategic, tactical and operational plans for the travel, cruise, hospitality and related industries.
-
KEYNOTE SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS: Leading a Crisis from the Eye of the Storm: View/Download Synopsis pdf. Tony Kaufman was appointed Away-Team Incident Commander and assigned to lead the response to the COVID-19 outbreak onboard Diamond Princess in Tokyo, Japan, February 2020. Using this extraordinary real-world example, through stories, pictures and videos, Tony takes the audience on a journey into the crisis and what it was like to lead from the Eye of the Storm and how CULTURE played a critical role in the response.
-
California MCLE Accredited Version: View/Download MCLE Synopsis
-
CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: Tony applies his 30+ years of experience in executive management and leading actual crises to provide clients with expert advice on their crisis management needs. Services range from providing some initial advice and concepts to creating a framework for a complete crisis management program tailored for the needs of an organization.
-
CULTURE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: An organization behaves according to its CULTURE. CULTURE can be an organization’s greatest asset, or its biggest risk. A positive CULTURE increases the overall performance of the organization. A bad CULTURE is a liability and can cause significant harm. How does your CULTURE protect against potential harmful events such as: Workplace Abuse and Harassment, Environmental Pollution, Illegal / Unethical Behavior, Safety failures causing Harm, Injury or Loss of Life, Fraud and Deception, Employee Disengagement, Stress and Burnout, Reputation Destruction, Incompetent / Siloed Decision-making? Every company needs to expressly articulate and communicate its CULTURE to all stakeholders and put in place an effective governance / compliance program.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Leading a Crisis from the Eye of the Storm
In early February 2020, Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess cruise ship became headline news across the globe as the ship, its 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members became the epicenter of the largest outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outside of China and was on the leading edge of a once in a lifetime deadly pandemic. Tony Kaufman, was appointed Away-Team Incident Commander and assigned to Tokyo, Japan, to lead the crisis response.
Using this extraordinary real-world example, through stories, pictures and videos, Tony takes the audience on a journey into the crisis and what it was like to lead from the eye of the storm. Key principles of leadership and emergency response are discussed in detail, giving the audience deep insight into how crisis management theory presented itself in practice. This is a unique opportunity to hear what it is like to experience managing a serious, unprecedented crisis from the front line.
_edited.jpg)
Tony recounts in detail:
-
How the crisis and response unfolded
-
Factors used to choose crisis leaders and the importance of leading from the eye of the storm
-
The pressures impacting the response team, his own personal stress factors and the actions taken to manage a team thrust into a life and death situation
-
Organizing the team and creating a clear space to do difficult work
-
How the culture and core values of the company were instrumental in guiding decisions
-
Innovative strategies used to overcome unprecedented challenges, including fascinating and instructive stories that occurred along the way
-
The relationships and interactions with the Japanese government, foreign embassies and numerous other stakeholders
-
The important role emotional intelligence played in achieving results
-
How the critical path issues were resolved
While no two crises are the same, the insights provided and real-life lessons learned will be invaluable to anyone who leads teams, finds themselves on the front line of a crisis or has the responsibility to prepare for one.
And for those not in crisis management, the principles discussed are relevant to any leader …… and it’s an incredibly interesting story.
"The story format was great! Very engaging and easy to be immersed in."
"I could have listened to another hour!"
"It was extremely relevant and to hear it straight from the source was invaluable."
.jpg)
Services
CRUISE, HOSPITALITY AND BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES
Tony's broad and deep business experience was developed over time in the multiple senior executive positions he held during his career in the travel, cruise, and hospitality industry. These positions included:
-
Executive Leadership Team member and Executive Vice President responsible for International Operations (including Asia, Europe and Australia), Information Technology and Human Resources
-
General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
-
Chief Financial Officer
-
Executive responsible for Commercial Affairs, Supply Chain, Onboard Revenue Operations and Port and Shore Operations
Tony quickly hones in on the key issues and draws from his knowledge and creativity to find effective solutions to the most complex challenges. Consulting services include strategic, tactical and commercial advice related to:
-
any travel, cruise, hospitality and related industry matters, including state of the industry and its players, COVID impacts, and financial and non-financial metrics
-
potential capital and asset sale and purchase transactions within the industry
-
new build and ship sale and purchase agreements
-
global networking across industry stakeholders
-
global expansion and operations, including Europe and Asia
-
effective organizational and operational structures, policies, processes and procedures
-
crisis management and CULTURE gaps and issues creating risks (see below)
"[What I liked most was] being able to understand the journey, including the challenges and solutions. I also appreciated the focus on emotional intelligence and doing the right thing. The videos really helped me connect and get a better appreciation of the situation"
KEYNOTE SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS
LEADING A CRISIS FROM THE EYE OF THE STORM:
Tony Kaufman was appointed Away-Team Incident Commander and assigned to lead the response to the COVID-19 outbreak onboard Diamond Princess in Tokyo,, Japan February 2020..
Using this extraordinary real-world example, through stories, pictures and videos, Tony takes the audience on a journey into the crisis and what it was like to lead from the Eye of the Storm and how CULTURE played a critical role in the response..
For Organizations, Leaders, Crisis Response Professionals, Risk Managers, the Curious and those that wish to be entertained:
Presentation 1: LEADING A CRISIS FROM THE EYE OF THE STORM
For Legal professionals:
Presentation 2: LEADING A CRISIS FROM THE EYE OF THE STORM - CALIFORNIA STATE BAR MCLE ACCREDITED**
**Includes section on legal issues encountered during the crisis and is accredited by the California State Bar for MCLE. One general credit.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Tony applies his 30+ years of experience in executive management and leading actual crises to provide clients with expert advice on their crisis management needs. Services range from providing a high-level discussion of relevant factors to providing a complete framework for a crisis management program tailored for the specific needs of an organization.
CULTURE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Culture can be an organization’s greatest asset, or its biggest risk
An organization behaves according to its CULTURE. A positive CULTURE increases the overall performance of the organization. It can also improve the lives it touches - one person, or many, at a time. How does your CULTURE support excellent performance?
A bad CULTURE is a liability and can cause significant harm. It can also be toxic to those within it. How does your CULTURE protect against potential harmful events such as:
-
Workplace Abuse and Harassment?
-
Environmental Pollution?
-
Illegal / Unethical Behavior?
-
Safety failures causing Harm, Injury or Loss of Life?
-
Fraud and Deception?
-
Employee Disengagement, Stress and Burnout?
-
Reputation Destruction?
- Incompetent / Siloed Decision-making?
Every company needs to expressly articulate its CULTURE, communicate its CULTURE to all stakeholders and put in place an effective governance / compliance program.
Does your organization’s CULTURE improve the lives of those it touches?
ABOUT
Anthony (Tony) Kaufman is a trusted senior executive with a distinguished career in leading business and legal strategies within the global hospitality industry.
Prior to establishing his consulting firm, Tony was Executive Vice President, Professional Services and General Counsel for the Holland America Group (Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and P&O Cruises Australia), a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. He was a member of the Senior Executive Leadership Team responsible for a $5.5 billion revenue business. He led strategies and teams in finance, human resources, information technology and legal, ethics and compliance.
Prior to that, Tony served in various positions within Carnival/Princess Cruises, including General Counsel of P&O Princess Cruises, plc, and leading supply chain, onboard revenue and port and shore operations. Between 2012 and 2017 he led the international commercial and business operations of Princess Cruises with oversight of teams in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and throughout Asia. He established sales, marketing and the onboard guest experience operations for the Asia markets and developed the company’s relationships with government authorities, industry associations, and business partners.
Tony began his career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as an Attorney at Law, managing corporate, intellectual property, contract, real estate matters and transactions.
Tony earned a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles where he was Editor, Loyola Law Review, and a member of Order of the Coif and St. Thomas Moore Honor Society. He earned a Bachelor of Arts, Communications Studies, degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and Executive Leadership certifications from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He served two terms as a Board Member of the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles.
What People Have Said About Tony and His Services
"I love working with and for you. You have taught me a tremendous amount. More importantly, your friendship, support, and loyalty has meant the most to me. By far you are one of the smartest, most challenging (in a good way) mentors I have had the privilege to work with."
"Working with you was and has been a career highlight. You saw the benefit of partnership at a time when others didn’t. You encouraged disruption and innovation as a discipline whilst others were comfortable just getting by. The transparency and openness you brought as a leader ... was so refreshing and inspiring and I have such fond memories of our time working together."
"You have been such a big role model in my time at Princess. You taught me it’s okay to be myself and hold my ground but to do it with professionalism. You showed me what a great leader looks like and provided me with confidence in my work by giving me such great opportunities to work with you and other executives. You’ve always been my favorite, but please don’t tell the others. I don’t think I would be where I am today without you and for that I am forever grateful."
"I loved the presentation style, the content I thought was a great mix of personal/professional, and I thought the multi-media/news clips were very compelling -- it really brought you back to the uncertainty/crisis of the beginning days of the pandemic."
"I am very glad that I had the opportunity to serve at your side. You are courageous, intelligent and compassionate (and not a bad writer either!) all great attributes for a leader. Your concern for the passengers, crew, and all stakeholders was evident in your actions and a lesser person would have folded under those extreme conditions. For certain, Princess was lucky to have you at their disposal for such an important mission."
"Let’s go to the GAP.
(G) Gratitude. I’m incredibly grateful for your leadership in this organization. From the moment I joined this company, I always looked up to you for insight and guidance. When I reported to poor leaders, I reminded myself we had leaders like you at the top.
(A) Accountability. Leaders lead by what they do, not what they say…you showed me examples of accountability while others talked about accountability. I’m currently accountable for [...] that doesn’t happen without people like you at the top supporting me.
(P) Perspective. I wouldn’t be in this company if it wasn’t for you"
"Tony walked through step by step how he dealt with the situation. These are the details that risk managers need. Very good blend of videos and interactive slides"
"Tony flexibly served our team in many ways to achieve new levels of growth for Princess Cruises and Holland America Group. He also prided himself on always accepting new challenges and supporting the professional development of his teammates. His leadership and service played a critical role in our history."